09/02/2023
NEWS STORY
F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali has said that the sport will not attempt to stop drivers voicing their opinions.
His comments follow an update to the FIA's International Sporting Code (ISC), which bans drivers from making "political, religious or personal" statements or comments without first obtaining permission.
"F1 will never put a gag on anyone," he told The Guardian, his comments immediately taken up by much of the rest of the British media.
"Everyone wants to talk so to have the platform to say what they want in the right way the better it is," he added. "We have a huge opportunity because of the position of our sport which is more and more global, multicultural and multivalued.
"We are talking about twenty drivers, ten teams and many sponsors, they have different ideas, different views.
"I cannot say one is right, one is wrong," he continued, "but it is right, if needed, to give them a platform to discuss their opinions in an open way.
"We will not change that approach as a sport. That should be the line of our sport, to give everyone the chance to speak in the right way, not with aggressive tones or to offend but with respect."
Curiously, at a time of increasing tension between the sport's owners and its governing body - or at least its president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem - though we have had three livery reveals and one show car, almost every driver from the four teams, Haas, Red Bull, Williams and Alfa Romeo, has spoken out over the issue.
"We keep monitoring the situation," said Domenicali. "We keep the drivers informed, we meet with the Grand Prix Drivers’ Associations (GPDA) to discuss it.
"How we can allow the drivers to be open as human beings in our sport. Athletes can be very emotional and passionate about some things and they need to discuss that constructively with people they trust."
Domenicali believes that all parties should be talking in order to find an acceptable solution.
"I had a discussion with the drivers about this last year," he said. "About how F1 could be a platform, to have a spotlight on certain things we believe are right to talk about.
"F1 should help the drivers if they want to discuss certain subjects. It is important to have a very constructive dialogue. If this is not happening it can create either confusion or problems where there need not be problems."
Referring to the update to the ISC, he said: "We are talking about a regulation and the regulator is the FIA. I believe the FIA will clarify what has been stated, in terms of respecting certain places where you cannot do it. I am sure the FIA will share the same view as F1 but they are part of an Olympic federation so there are protocols to which they have to abide."
Domenicali's vow that drivers will not be gagged is somewhat ironic when one considers that the wife of his predecessor, Chase Carey, who remains Executive Chairman of the Formula One Group, deleted her Twitter account following a complaint from Lewis Hamilton in the summer of 2020.
F1 subsequently set up a diversity campaign to fund internships and apprenticeships for people from underrepresented groups - to which Carey donated $1m - just a few days after the launch of the We Race As One campaign, "a platform aimed at tackling the biggest issues facing our sport and global communities".
Over the course of the summer, a clearly emboldened Hamilton ramped-up the activism and in no time at all F1's powers that be had agreed to drivers displaying their feelings towards certain causes in the moments before the race, though when the Briton took his message on to the podium the FIA decided it was a step to far and quickly acted, insisting that politics - certainly in terms of T-Short slogans - had no place in official ceremonies.
As we have said before, while the drivers insist that that they want to be free to voice their opinions, what on earth makes them feel that race fans want to hear them.
Furthermore, taking this forward, there is the little matter of what opinion is acceptable.
During that crazy summer of 2020, as F1 struggled to be the only sport to put on a world championship show, the drivers were allowed to show their support for various causes during a special period ahead of the race. Many followed Hamilton's example in taking the knee, a symbolic gesture against racism originated by American football player Colin Kaepernick.
However, sections of the media were quick to seize upon those drivers that took the knee and those, that forever reason, opted not to.
Therefore a big question facing the sport is if drivers are free to speak their minds, is it a free for all or are certain subjects and causes taboo.
We have seen in Hollywood, the music industry and others that those that even hint at a conservative (small C) attitude in an increasingly liberal-dominated world are frowned upon, in some cases their careers effectively cancelled.
So, will freedom of expression be confined to those beliefs that fit the agenda, the current 'thing'.
Whilst we believe the unease over the 'gagging' being expressed by the drivers is merely part of the process as Liberty Media seeks to oust Mohammed Ben Sulayem, one has to wonder what many of the drivers actually want to speak out about.
Anyone who has watched the pre-event press conferences will be aware that for the most part their answers to questions are anodyne, and other than how great the circuit/fans/host country is, set-up/porpoising/rake and weather, look ill at ease when asked to venture outside their comfort zones.
Furthermore, with the likes of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi pouring money into the F1 coffers will the sport want anyone saying anything that might cause problems?
Fact is, despite the drivers' protestations at their right to being able to say what they want, when they want, they gave up that right the first time they took the money and started adorning their overalls with sponsors logos, for it is the big corporations, be it industry, media or whatever, that call the shots and increasingly use the likes of sportsmen to be their spokespeople.